


With Your Words For Company I Won't Ever Be Lonely

by Angel Ascending (angel_in_ink)



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: All the cuddles, Cali Is Asexual, F/F, Gen, Mentioned Beau/Yasha/Jester, Of Course They Trade Romance Novels, Or As Friends Who Cuddle And Read Romance Novel Together, Pen Pals, Sets Up My Fics For Critical Role Relationship Week, The Sending Spell Is Basically Telepathic Twitter, There Is No Angst Concerning This Fact, can be read as pre-relationship, some canon typical violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-21 01:53:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14906207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angel_in_ink/pseuds/Angel%20Ascending
Summary: Even though things had been tense when Cali had left the Mighty Nein, she found herself missing them almost immediately as she made her way back through the swamp and back toward Berleben and the Keystone Pub. It had been really nice to have people to talk to! She liked talking to people, but usually her conversations with regular folk tended to be along the lines of, “No, I’m not evil or cursed. Please don’t hurt me. I don’t want to have to hurt you.” And then she’d have to run, or spit some acid to scare them away, though she didn’t like doing that. But the Mighty Nein hadn’t tried to kill her even once! She wished she could have stayed with them for a little longer, gotten to know them better, but unfortunately she had other things to tend to, and so did they. But that was all right! She was sure she’d see them again. And Jester was her pen pal now! She’d never had a pen pal before!Cali's time on the road and what happens after.





	With Your Words For Company I Won't Ever Be Lonely

Even though things had been tense when Cali had left the Mighty Nein, she found herself missing them almost immediately as she made her way back through the swamp and back toward Berleben and the Keystone Pub. It had been really nice to have people to talk to! She _liked_ talking to people, but usually her conversations with regular folk tended to be along the lines of, “No, I’m not evil or cursed. Please don’t hurt me. I don’t want to have to hurt you.” And then she’d have to run, or spit some acid to scare them away, though she didn’t like doing that. But the Mighty Nein hadn’t tried to kill her even once! She wished she could have stayed with them for a little longer, gotten to know them better, but unfortunately she had other things to tend to, and so did they. But that was all right! She was sure she’d see them again. And Jester was her pen pal now! She’d never had a pen pal before! She could even write a letter to Jester tonight and leave it at the pub for when Jester got back!

It was past dark when Cali got back to the pub, and she had never been happier to eat what she had to admit was not the best meal she’d ever had in her life, and to go back to her room which had about a half inch of water on the floor and smelled like mold. She had slept in worse places since she had left the temple. It felt terrible, but she actually missed the place sometimes. Oh, not the killing people part or the actually worshipping an evil dragon goddess part, but she had gone to sleep every night in a very nice bed, and she had never gone hungry. She had been so young when she had been living on the streets, and what memories she had from that time all involved scavenging for food and trying to find a safe place to sleep. She had thought the cult finding her had been an answer to her prayers. Oh well, no use dwelling on what had been. She had to focus on what was ahead of her. And she had a letter to write!

Cali hadn’t been able to sneak out of the temple with very much, mostly just some clothes and food and a few of her favorite books. She had sold all her jewelry except for the bracelet around her wrist, and that had gotten her a decent cloak and a bedroll and basic adventuring stuff, and had paid for things like rooms at inns and food during her travels. She tried not to think about how little coin she had left while sat up in the bed and rummaged in her bag for what she considered one of her few luxuries; a leather-bound journal. She had been so excited (and scared, also scared) about being out in the world for the first time in forever, and she had wanted some place to write down everything she saw. She had just turned to a fresh page and was trying to figure out what to write when she heard Jester’s voice in the back of her mind.

_< Hi Cali! You can leave letters for me at the Leaky Tap in Zadash! Oh, and check your pockets! You can reply to this message.>_

Cali’s eyes widened as she checked the pockets of her cloak. Jester could talk to her with magic from such a long way away? That was amazing!

There was five gold pieces each in both the pockets of her cloak that Cali _knew_ hadn’t been there when she had started out that morning. She felt her eyes brim with tears. Jester must have put them there when Cali had hugged her goodbye. Every bit of money helped, and she had learned the hard way how to make a gold piece stretch. That ten gold plus her share of the gold they had found after the fight with the fish men, which the group had insisted she take, would hopefully get her back to Port Damali with little problems. Jester’s magic fizzed at the back of her mind, waiting for a response.

< _Oh Jester, thank you so much! I’ll pay you back when I can, I swear!You’re the best! Be careful fighting those fish men! I— >_

The magic faded abruptly and Cali blinked and rubbed at her forehead with her non-clawed hand. The spell probably only lasted so long or let you say so much. That was all right though, because Cali had plenty of paper and ink. Her letter to Jester was long and full of questions. Both Jester and Mister Caleb had said things earlier that made Cali think that maybe Jester had grown up in a situation similar to Cali’s own, in some way, and Cali was very interested in learning more about that. She had questions for Mister Caleb and Miss Beau too, but by the time she finished writing Jester’s letter she was yawning and her eyes were heavy. She’d write letters to everyone else over breakfast before she set out back on the road, and then everyone would have something nice to read when they got back from their adventure.

Cali carefully ran a claw down the edge of the page, tearing it free from the rest of the journal before folding it in half and tucking it securely in her cloak pocket where she wouldn’t forget it. That done, she crawled into bed and closed her eyes, rolling onto her dragon side as she tried to get comfortable. After what seemed like an eternity in the dark, she sighed and rolled over, eyes open. She was worried, so she did what she always did when she was worried. She prayed, the action as soothing now as it had always been, even though the god she prayed to had changed.

“O First of Dragons, thank you for protecting me today, and if you could, would you please protect my new friends too? They’re the first real friends I’ve had in forever, because it’s not like the cultists were really my friends, even though I thought they were nice at first. So please watch over Jester and Miss Yasha and Miss Beau and Nott and Kiri and Mister Fjord and Mister Molly and Mister Caleb and his cat.”

Cali thought about Mister Caleb and how sad he looked, even when he smiled, and how worried he had been that Cali was lying and wanted to do something evil with the bowl. He had acted like someone who had trusted the wrong people once, and Cali knew how that felt. “Maybe especially Mister Caleb. And Miss Beau, who was trying to look out for me. But then maybe that wouldn’t be fair to everyone else. Just…” Cali knew she was rambling, she did that when she was anxious. “Just watch over them all please, they’re all really good people and they were nice to me, and nice things should happen to them. That’s all. Thank you.”

Satisfied, Cali closed her eyes and finally fell asleep.

******

Jester didn’t talk to Cali in her head every day, but Cali found herself composing little messages just in case, sometimes answers to questions that Jester had asked her, sometimes just telling her about interesting things she had seen on the road. Jester tended to start off her messages with “We’re fine!” so that Cali wouldn’t have to waste precious words asking, and Cali did the same. More often than not, the messages from Jester came just as the moons were rising, and that time of night quickly became one of Cali’s favorite times. Even on the nights when Jester didn’t talk to her, well, the moons were still pretty.

< _We’re fine_! > Cali heard Jester say one night maybe a week or so after Cali had left Berleben. < _I think we ran into your cultist friends today though, so be extra careful! Have you made it to Zadash yet?_ >

< _Was anyone hurt? And not yet. I don’t walk very fast, I know, I’m sorry. Are you guys really okay? I’m so sorry! >_

No answer back, which meant there might not be one until tomorrow. Sometimes, very rarely, Jester had enough magic to send another message after the first one, but tonight was not one of those nights. Cali’s dragon claw clenched, along with her jaw. If the cultists were to appear in front of her right now she would… she would…

Cali heard herself growling low in her throat and knew that she wouldn’t be getting any sleep, not between her worry and her anger. She doused the fire and stood, letting her eyes get used to the darkness and the moonlight, which would illuminate the way back to the road well enough without her having to use a spell. She normally didn’t like traveling at night, there were bandits and worse, but she would have welcomed the fight now, the distraction. That was her dragon blood talking, and she knew that, but she didn’t care, just set her feet on the road.

Guilt gnawed at her with sharp teeth. It’d be her fault if any of her friends had gotten hurt, her fault for getting them involved. Yet, if she hadn’t gotten them involved, she would have never had met them. She probably wouldn’t have made it through the swamp by herself, and if she had, probably not past all the fish-people. And then the cultists would have gotten the bowl and that would have been _very_ bad and…

“Let them be safe,” Cali heard herself muttering over and over. “Keep them safe through darkest night and then again in morning’s light.” It was a child’s rhyme, a child’s prayer from a time before she had known that there were bad gods as well as good, before she had known Their names, when she had been alone on the streets and had whispered prayers to Anyone who might listen.

Cali’s thoughts chased each other around like a cat chasing his tail and it was with surprise that she realized that both the entrance to Zadash was looming before her and that the sun was rising, turning the few clouds in the sky pink and gold.

< _It’s not your fault, Cali!_ > Jester’s voice spoke up suddenly from the back of Cali’s mind, surprising a squeak from her. It was better than a growl at least. < _Molly got the worst of it but I healed him, no problem. He’s fine! We’re fine! It’s okay!_ >

It wasn’t, it really wasn’t, but Cali felt relief flood through her anyway. Suddenly she was tired. No, not just tired, exhausted. < _Tell Mister Molly I’m sorry, all right? Tell everyone I’m sorry. I hope they don’t bother you again. Made it to Zadash. Stay safe, Jester._ >

Cali had stayed at the Leaky Tap when she had passed through the city on the way to Berleben and it seemed like her legs remembered the way all on her own, which was good because she was so tired she could barely think. She had been surprised to hear from Jester so soon. Jester had told her that the Sending spell took a lot of magic, which was why she waited until the end of the day to use it, if she had enough power left to do so, and Cali totally understood that. After all, sometimes Jester needed that power to heal people instead. But Jester had cast Sending this morning, probably right after her morning devotions to her deity, just so Cali wouldn’t have to worry all day. It was just so… so _thoughtful._ It made Cali feel warm and happy inside, and that feeling stayed with her as she tiredly wove her way through the streets of Zadash and rented a room at the Leaky Tap.

Cali was halfway up the stairs to her room when she heard Jester speak up in her head again.

< _I know you told me to send your letters to that tavern in Port Damali, but I sent one to the Leaky Tap anyway._ >

Cali blinked, surprised that Jester had messaged her again so soon. She had indeed told Jester to send any letters to The Crow’s Nest, a tavern down by the docks where her only other friend, Grimm, the dwarf legionnaire tended to spend his nights. Jester had sent her something here? Cali guessed it made sense, Jester had known she would have had to have come here at the very least to leave her letters for Jester and the others.

< _Oh thank you, Jester!_ > Cali replied, hoping her mental voice sounded cheerful and not exhausted. < _I’ll go check right now!_ >

Cali walked back down the stairs and winced as it made her legs ache. She had overdone it on the walking. She would have thought that the walk from Port Damali to Berleben would have toughened her up some, but it seemed not so much. Not for the first time, she wished horses weren’t flat out terrified of her. Not that she had the money for a horse.

“Excuse me again, miss, terribly sorry to bother you again,” Cali said to the woman behind the bar. “My friend Jester told me there might be a letter waiting for me here. It’d be for Calianna, or Cali for short.”

“Oh so you’re the one,” the woman said with a bit of a smile. “Arrived yesterday it did.” She went into the back and returned quickly with a surprisingly thick envelope.

Cali’s delight overtook her exhaustion for a moment as she took the envelope, tipped the woman a few silver for her trouble, and made her way back up the stairs to her room. Her very first letter from a friend! She sat down on the bed, opened the envelope, and saw with surprise that it wasn’t just a letter, but drawings too! There was a drawing of Mister Caleb and Miss Beau hugging, ( _They are friends now!_ read the caption) a scene of everyone fighting fish-people ( _Caleb says they are called merrow. I don’t care what they are called, they suck._ ) and a drawing of little Kiri stabbing corpses ( _She keeps doing that._ ).

Cali moved on to the letter itself, even though she was yawning and her eyes threatened to close every few paragraphs. She read about Jester and her mother, ( _who is beautiful and kind and sings super great and has sex with people for money_ ”) and how Jester had spent most of her life in her room ( _Because, you know, if people found out Mom had a kid they wouldn’t want to have sex with her I guess? Which is dumb._ ) and about the Traveler ( _Who is just the best_!) who gave her magic and ultimately lead to Jester starting her life of adventure.

The last few lines of the letter swam in front of Cali’s eyes as she set the letter down. She felt like she could sleep for _days._

_I want to know all about you too! I’ve never had a pen pal before, unless you count the Traveler, because I write to him and draw him pictures, but he doesn’t write back so maybe that doesn’t count? I asked him to look after you on the road so if you see someone in a green cloak staring at you and you can’t see his face, it’s probably him. Or it’s just some creepy guy staring at you. I look forward to your letters and I can’t wait to see you again, I promise we’ll come visit as soon as we can!_

_Pen-pals forever!_

_Jester_

Cali yawned and tucked the letter and drawings away in her backpack before flopping back on the bed. She had several pages of a long, rambling letter composed in her journal, but when she woke up she would write about the temple, and Seris, who had been like a mother to Cali before, you know, the whole realizing the cultists were evil thing. It was amazing to think that all those years while Cali hadn’t been allowed outside the temple, Jester hadn’t been allowed outside either, for different reasons, and yet they were both out in the world now, free to explore.

“First of Dragons,” Cali mumbled into her pillow as she rolled over. “Please don’t let the cultists come after my friends again. They can come after me instead, that’s fine. I’m glad everyone is safe though, so thank you for that. And Mister Traveler, thank you for looking out for me, if you are, and thank you for giving Jester magic because if you hadn’t I wouldn’t have met her and I’m really glad I met her.”

Cali thought she heard a dry little chuckle and a voice say, “ _Mister_ Traveler. So polite,” as she fell asleep moments later, but that could have been a part of her dream.

**********

Cali read and re-read Jester’s letter to her so much during her next few weeks on the road that she ended up with the contents nearly memorized, the same as it was with some of her favorite books. In turn she wrote to Jester every day, sending long, rambling letters at nearly every decent sized town she stopped at. Sometimes nothing particularly interesting would happen and Cali would write little stories for Jester instead.

< _I am drawing pictures to go with your stories_ ,> Jester Sent Cali one night. < _You are going to have so much mail when you get home!_ >

Home. Cali wasn’t sure where that was going to be exactly, besides somewhere in Port Damali. Grimm had told her before she left that he’d find her work and a place to stay, so she didn’t have to worry about that at any rate. He had also assured her that the people in port towns were a little more tolerant of, as he put it, “unique” looking people. Cali certainly hoped so.

< _I can’t wait to read it all_! > Cali replied. < _I should be in Port Damali by tomorrow night. At least I think so! >_

Cali had been lucky on the road going south, only running into bandits twice, and both times managing to scare them off without hurting them too badly. The weather had been decent as well, and the few times it had rained, Cali had managed to find caves to shelter in until the storms cleared. When the roads forked and her map only showed a straight road, whatever path Cali took was either the correct one, or at the very least was a very scenic detour. Cali wasn’t sure if her good fortune was coincidence or if the gods were looking out for her or what, but she thanked both the Platinum Dragon and the Traveler just in case. It was only fair.

**********

Between getting settled and her new job, not to mention following leads on further activities of the members of the Caustic Heart, it took Cali nearly a month to get caught up on her mail. She had been surprised to see a letter from Mister Caleb in the pile (apologizing for being so cautious about her intentions with the bowl, which Cali again assured him that she completely understood and hadn’t been offended by in the slightest.) along with several letters from Miss Yasha, who wrote very few words but always included pressed flowers with her notes.

Jester’s letters were the bulk of the correspondence, and Cali got into the habit of reading at least one of her letters every night after her shift at the Crow’s Nest was over and she went up the stairs to her tiny room. It gave her something to look forward to after a night of serving drinks and levitating rowdy drunks out the door. Comments about her appearance had been kept to a minimum among the regulars since the Incident (Cali had been _very_ sorry and had promised to pay for all the repairs from the acid damage) and new folks just into port were told that Cali was a sweetheart unless you got her riled up. Cali, for her part, continued to hide as much of her draconic heritage as she could so as not to make anyone uneasy, and tried to keep a rein on the temper that came with her blood.

The months passed, the flow of letters as steady as it ever was as fall turned to winter turned to spring, summer creeping up quickly. Cali had mentioned in one of her letters that she liked romance novels, and weeks later a box showed up at the bar containing several of Jester’s favorites. Cali had immediately sent Jester some of her own favorite books, and their letters took on a more literary bent.

 _Is it weird that I like reading about characters being intimate (_ Cali had to stop writing and fan herself with a copy of Tusk Love until her blush faded) _but I’ve personally never wanted to be intimate with anyone? I mean, kissing and hand holding and cuddling and long walks on the beach, those would be really nice. Really, really nice. I’d like that. Maybe not here, because the docks aren’t romantic at all, but in general. Just, I’ve never been attracted to anyone sexually. Is that strange? I don’t know who else to ask, and I thought you might know._

< _It’s super not weird! > _Jester immediately reassured Cali weeks later when she received the letter, her mental voice adamant. < _Some people are just like that, that’s all, and it’s not bad or anything. Just different! >_

Cali breathed a mental sigh of relief. < _Oh that’s good. I’m glad it’s not just me, at least. Thank you, Jester._ >

 _< You’re very welcome!> _An immediate response was rare and Cali treasured them. < _And if you were here right now I’d snuggle you so hard if you wanted and everyone else was okay with it!_ >

Cali felt herself blush. She hadn’t been surprised to learn months ago that Jester was involved with both Miss Yasha and Miss Beau. After all, Jester was very lovable, and she had a big heart, and it was no surprise that people loved her. If Cali wanted to be honest with herself, she had probably fallen in love with Jester too, through her letters. She didn’t know if she loved Jester as a friend or something more than that, but the feeling was there. < _I’d like that. A lot, really a lot, if Miss Beau and Miss Yasha wouldn’t mind. I’ve never been snuggled before_. > Her dragon side probably wouldn’t be the most pleasant to cuddle against, but there was plenty of Cali that wasn’t covered in scales.

********

For the next few weeks, Cali’s daydreams were filled with a certain blue tiefling more often than usual, at least until word reached her of a shipment coming in to the docks that was rumored to contain some interesting artifacts, including a sacrificial dagger that was said to be used in rituals involving the Scaled Tyrant. Which was how Cali found herself running from five cultists in dragon masks, each of them wielding magic that corresponded to the color of dragon they were masquerading as. It was just past sundown, the streets mercifully mostly empty and what few bystanders hurriedly getting out of Cali’s way as she ran, the wooden box containing the dagger tucked under one arm.

“Death to the betrayer!” Cali heard one of them shout, and she dodged down a side street just in time for the lightning bolt to graze her side instead of full on hitting her. Cali clenched her teeth and hissed at the pain but kept running, but not before muttering a few words and pointing over her shoulder. She didn’t stick around to see if the fireball had met its mark, but the screams from behind her told her at least some damage had been done.

Cali heard herself growling low in her throat as she ran blindly down streets. She hadn’t planned for this. Why hadn’t she planned for this? She should have known the cult would show up, she should have—

< _Cali_! > Jester’s voice sung out in the back of her mind. < _You are never going to guess where we are right now_! >

< _Jester, not now! > _Cali’s thoughts sounded like a snarl and she couldn’t help it. < _Sorry! Sorry! I can’t talk right_ —> And then the blast of ice hit her with a cold so fierce it burned. The sound Cali made as she fell was half growl, half scream, which echoed off the stone streets and the buildings that surrounded her. She was up on her feet in an instant, turning to face her attackers, two of whom were still smoldering from her fireball. They were mere feet away, and Cali cast a spell that was second nature to her, the acid rising in her throat. She wasn’t going down without a fight.

“You can’t have it!” Cali snarled. “I won’t let you!”

“What she said!” Jester called out, and Cali had just enough time to realize that Jester’s voice wasn’t in her head before a giant spectral lollipop smashed into one of the cultists, knocking them off their feet.

Things got a bit chaotic after that. Part of Cali was intensely aware of what was going on, as she made sure to adjust her spells so they would not hit her friends. She saw Nott firing crossbow bolts with striking accuracy, Miss Yasha swinging her sword, both Mister Fjord and Mister Molly disappearing and reappearing from view, striking foes and then vanishing. She almost didn’t see Mister Caleb duck out from behind a corner and back again, but she saw his firebolts as Miss Beau ran up the wall of a building, jumped, and kicked one of the cultists so hard that Cali heard the crack of bone from where she was. Part of her noticed all of that while the other part of her roared and snarled, breathing acid and clawing at cultists who got too close to her.

“Cali? That guy is like, super dead.”

Cali, crouched over the body of the cultist who was wearing a black dragon mask, growled softly. There was blood on her claws and her throat burned and she hurt everywhere. She looked up, and there was Jester, crouched down as well so she could look Cali in the eye. She smiled when Cali looked at her.

“Surprise!” Jester said softly but cheerfully, and just like that, the tension broke and Cali, shaking and sore and exhausted, started to laugh. She was still laughing when Jester reached out and pulled Cali to her feet, and Cali wasn’t sure what felt better, the energy of the healing spell Jester cast, or the feeling of her arms wrapped around Cali in a hug.

“What are you _doing_ here?” Cali asked, not letting go of Jester. To be fair, Jester showed no sign of wanting to let go either, so that was all right.

“I wanted to surprise you!” Jester said gleefully. “Momma said it was safe for me to go visit her, and that I could bring everyone with me, and I couldn’t _not_ come through here without seeing you and asking if you wanted to come with us! But you cut off when I tried to Send to you, and then we heard shouting and snarling and we would have checked that out _anyway_ , but I thought it sounded like you so I ran over. ”

“I hate to break up this reunion,” Mister Fjord said as he glanced around. “But we weren’t exactly being quiet or anything, and there are five dead people in the street so maybe we should do this somewhere else.”

Cali reluctantly let go of Jester and looked around. Now that she was no longer fighting for her life, she recognized what street they were on. “The tavern I work at is just a few streets over.”

“Excellent!” Mister Molly said. “After that, I could use a drink. First round’s on me!”

“If you don’t mind, Mister Molly?” Cali asked as she started to lead the way. “But this dagger needs to be destroyed and the sooner the better. I don’t know what it does, but if the Caustic Heart wanted it this badly, it can’t be good.”

“No need to be so formal, Cali,” Mister Molly said with a grin. “Jester talks about you so much that you practically feel like family.”

Cali didn’t know if Molly was being serious or not, but she felt tears start to run down her face anyway. “Really?”

“Oh shit,” Cali heard Beau say. “Cali, are those good tears or do I need to go punch Molly?”

“Good tears Miss— I mean Beau.”

“Ha. Okay.” Beau gave Cali something that could be only be described as an aggressive pat on the shoulder. “I agree with Molly,” Beau whispered loudly in her ear. “But don’t tell him that.”

“I’m literally walking next to you,” Molly said, and Cali could hear the smile in his voice.

“Cali.” That was Caleb, soft-spoken as usual. His eyes didn’t look as sad as Cali remembered seeing them last. “Do you mind if I cast Identify on your dagger before we destroy it? Just to make sure it’s what you think it is. I promise to give it right back.”

“I trust you,” Cali said, wiping away her brief shower of tears with the back of her hand, and was surprised and pleased to see Caleb smile, just a little.

There was a small alley behind the tavern and Caleb and Yasha crowded into it with Cali as she opened the box. It was beautifully crafted as far as sacrificial daggers went, the blade shining, an intricate design of a five headed dragon etched into both the blade and the hilt. After ten minutes or so of casting his spell, Caleb looked up, eyes wide. “It’s a soul-eating blade.”

Cali put a hand over her mouth and heard Yasha say something that sounded like a curse. It was bad enough to die, but to have your soul taken so you couldn’t even go on to whatever was next? That was just unthinkable. Even after Yasha had sundered the dagger with her sword and Caleb had sworn that the broken pieces held no magic, Cali directed some acid at the remains anyway, just in case.

“Thank you,” Cali said as they walked out of the alley. “I hate to think of what would have happened if the Caustic Heart had gotten their hands on that.”

“Nothing good,” Caleb said. “Is it going well, then? Have you tracked down any more artifacts since we last saw you?”

“There was a chalice, a few months ago,” Cali said. “The group who helped me track it down, well, we didn’t have any fancy swords or spells that would destroy it, so we threw it into some lava. We’re pretty sure it melted.”

“You would think so,” Yasha said softly. There was lightning sparking off the tips of her fingers and the ends of her hair still. “I’m always a little amazed that my sword is powerful enough to destroy magical things.”

“It’s not just the sword that’s powerful,” Cali and Caleb both said at once. Yasha ducked her head to hide her blush, but Cali saw that she was smiling too.

They stepped into the tavern and Cali immediately found herself sitting at a table with Jester on one side of her and Yasha on the other.

“So anyway,” Jester said. “The whole reason we came was to see if you wanted to come with us to Nicodranas! You can meet my mom and we can go swimming and sleep on the beach! Well, not like right on it because sand can get in all sorts of places you don’t want to ever have sand in, but we’ll have hammocks!”

“That sounds terrific!” Cali said. “I’d love to come!” The owner of the bar had been an adventurer back in his youth and totally understood that Cali had to leave from time to time to go off and do things like destroy evil artifacts, he probably wouldn’t begrudge her the time to go on a vacation with friends. “When are we leaving?”

“As soon as you’re ready in the morning,” Fjord said. “Now Molly, I believe you said that first round of drinks was on you?”

Cali didn’t drink, but she happily chatted with the rest of the group about their adventures and her own. She knew a lot from Jester’s letters, it was true, but for as much as Jester wrote, not even she could write down _everything._ She talked until she realized she was yawning more than she was speaking.

“Sorry, sorry,” Cali said. “It’s been a long day.”

“Nothing to be sorry for,” Jester said cheerfully with a yawn of her own. “We’ll have plenty of time to talk on the road! And on the beach! Do you want some company tonight, Cali? I did say I was going to snuggle you so hard, if you wanted.”

Cali blinked, pausing briefly in the act of standing up. She looked at Jester, then at Beau and Yasha. “I mean, if that’s okay with everyone?”

“Oh yeah sure, we already talked about it,” Yasha said. “And I wouldn’t mind some alone time with Beau.”

“Worst taste in women,” Molly mumbled good naturally.

“We’re all pretty easy going,” Beau said to Cali after shooting a look at Molly. “Just don’t like, run off and elope or anything.”

And that’s how Cali ended up in bed with Jester curled up against her, the tiefling’s head on her chest. She almost didn’t want to go to sleep, wanted to just stay awake forever and enjoy the moment, but she couldn’t help closing her eyes.

“Night, Jester,” Cali whispered. It almost felt strange, not having to talk to Jester in her head or write down what she was feeling.

“Night, Cali,” Jester whispered back. “Love you.”

Cali didn’t ask Jester to clarify how she meant the statement, if she meant just as friends or as something else. There’d be time to talk about that later, and Cali wasn’t entirely sure it mattered, because either way, she felt the same, and the reply came out easily.

“Love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> So this fic not only sets up my fics for Critical Role Relationship Week, but it sets up two chapters of Familiar Comfort I still need to write. Because that's just how I am. :D
> 
> I'm angel-ascending over on Tumblr if y'all want to stop by and say hi!


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